Stone tablet honors vets

Through our lens

May 25, 2013

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Written by

Adam Birkan

Take a tour of the Blue Ash Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park. / The Enquirer/Adam Birkan

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This week I photographed the unveiling of a memorial at the Blue Ash Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park dedicated to Iraq and Afghanistan fatalities from Blue Ash. My brother’s name, Daniel Freeman, is carved into the stone. “My decision to become a photographer was to become a war photographer.” I believe this quote by my personal hero, photojournalist James Nachtwey, has come to define my life’s goals, past, present and future. My decision to pursue photography came as a result of my brother Daniel’s death in Afghanistan in 2005. My family and I had become part of the news. I was too young at the time, 15, to channel my emotions in a productive way, but after I took a year off after high school, my passion for photography – and, more importantly, photojournalism – had solidified. From that point on, everything I have done has been a waypoint in my life on the road to becoming a conflict photographer. I want people to know how the pains of war affect family, friends and communities around the globe. And hopefully, many years from now, that pain will no longer be felt by anyone. And I will do everything that I possibly can to bring that hope to fruition. ⬛Memorial Day in Blue Ash

Blue Ash will celebrate its 61st Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony on Monday, May 27. Following the parade that begins at 10:15 am, there will be a special ceremony at the Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park on Blue Ash Towne Square to dedicate a commemorative stone tablet for Veteran residents who have lost their lives in combat. The three most recent are graduates from Sycamore High School, killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.